Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Enugu State Multi-Door Courthouse (ESMDC) has introduced online dispute resolution programme as part of its effort to check the spread of COVID-19 and also ensure access to justice to disputants and litigants whose matters can be expeditiously resolved by virtual means.
This is as the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Priscilla Emehelu, has said that the successful hosting of the maiden settlement week by the ESMDC in 2019 was in keeping with the target of making the state, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) hub of the Southeast zone.
The alternative virtual platform for the mediation process would be deployed during the 2020 settlement week of the ESMDC holding later this month.
Director, ESMDC, Mrs. Caroline Etuk, said the innovation was in keeping with the global response to the pandemic in the dispute resolution industry.
She explained that any online mediation will start with a pre-session meeting where the case manager will prepare the parties for the Zoom mediation conference and would entail completion of the confidentiality and mediation agreement forms. The ground rules would also be spelt out at this point.
Etuk also said that during the mediation proper, there would be private meeting after the parties had stated their cases. It is in the private meeting rooms that there will be exploration and bargaining.
“Lastly, at the conclusion of the mediation, the parties will once again participate in a joint session in the main room. If the parties have reached an agreement, terms of settlement will either be forwarded to parties for their endorsement or signed online. Thereafter, signed terms of settlement will be forwarded to the referral judge (for referred matters) or the ADR Judge (for walk-in matters) to be adopted as judgements of Court”, she stated.
According to her, participation in online dispute resolution was an excellent opportunity for lawyers and disputants to get conversant with the changes in the justice sector.
Describing the method as new and normal in dispute resolution globally, the ESMDC added that it was an efficient and convenient way for parties to engage in and resolve their disputes from the comfort of their locations.
With this development, parties in Diaspora now have the advantage of participating in their disputes in Nigeria.
Speaking further on the programme, Etuk said the Settlement Week was a period in which disputants had an opportunity to have their cases mediated at no cost to the parties.
“It was also geared towards encouraging the early settlement of cases pending litigation in the High Courts and Magistrate Courts of Enugu State, while providing satisfactory, timely and cost-effective justice to litigants.
“A total of 321 of both court referred and walk-in matters were received into the ESSW 2019 docket and a total of 212 mediations were conducted; 174 of these were successfully concluded with Terms of Settlement duly signed by the parties in 116 cases while 49 cases were unsuccessful. The ESSW 2019 achieved a success rate of 67% of cases mediated and concluded.
“A total of 38 Courts, 48 mediators, more than 1, 272 parties, and 350 counsels participated in the ESSW 2019. Other success indicators of the programme included the speedy recovery of monetary and other claims in the resolved matters; fostering societal harmony through the amicable resolution of disputes; and overall savings to disputants on costs,” she stated.